Kent, the Garden of England, is home to illustrious families like Sir Francis Fane, the Earl of Westmorland. The Earl could trace his family back to 1066 and probably beyond. By 1480 the Fane dynasty had taken root in Kent. In early 1600 the name Fane began to morph into Finn.
Sir Francis Fane of Apethorpe Hall is my ninth great grandfather. His sixth great-grandson Nathaniel Finn was the father of William Thomas, who came to Australia and married Jane Balhannah Hatfield. Their son, Nathaniel, was my great-grandfather. He was a camel driver in Farina, South Australia.
Elijah and Elizabeth had eleven children. Charles Finn was born after the death of Elijah and maybe the son of Anne Finn.
In 1839 Robert Finn and his wife Sophia immigrated to South Australia aboard the Resource. With 112 others, they left England to find their fortune in the new colony. Robert was a sawyer and found work and good luck in the new territory. He wrote home to his mother extolling the virtues of living free and for reasonable wages. His brothers George, James, and John accept George's offer to help pay for passage and join him in Australia.
Nathaniel married Fanny Saffery on 27 September 1846 in Canterbury, Kent. They had two children during their marriage. He died as a young father on 24 April 1852 in Canterbury, Kent, and was buried there at the age of 29.
His marriage to Fanny Saffrey revealed some surprises. Coming from a well-connected and educated line, it was surprising to note that Nathaniel could not write his name. His brother Robert wrote letters to his mother when in Australia. Perhaps education was unaffordable by the time Nathaniel was born.
He was working at a brewery, and his death was tragic. The certificate states he was accidentally scalded.
The Kentish Gazette provided more detail.
Fanny is left to raise their two children, William Thomas (b. 1847) and Fanny Elizabeth (b.1850). Both children were young, and she would need to find some support to raise them. The Finn Family seemed to have gathered and come to their aid. Nathaniel's older brother George took care of the family. On 4 October 1856, Fanny and her two children are listed as boarding the Lilly Dale in London and sailing to Adelaide. They arrived on 3 February 1857.
They travelled to the new municipality of Gawler, where George was waiting. Fanny and George were married on 25 February, twenty-two days after her arrival. Their marriage lasted 22 years. She would have two more children, Henry James (b.1857) and Lucinda Eden (b.1858).
Fanny would have imagined the start of a new life, far from the poverty of her life in England.
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